Terminal connector



Feb. 3, 1942. F. HEWEL 2,271,692

TERMINAL CONNECTOR Filed June 6, 1940 INVENTOR ATTORNEY WITNESS PatentedF ch. 3, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TERMINAL CONNECTOR Frank B.Hewel, Pittsburgh, Pa. 7 Application June 6, 1940, Serial No. 339,084

3 Claims.

My invention relates to terminal connectors and it has particularrelation to connectors for automobile batteries and the like which maybe readily applied and also readily removed after being in service.

It is well known that, on account of corrosion of terminal connectors orclamping devices for the posts of automobile batteries and the like, itbecomes very difficult to remove such connectors or clamps for batteryrepairs,- charging the battery, replacement of the cables, etc., andnumerous devices have been proposed in the past for overcoming to agreater or less degree this undesirable condition.

It is an object of my present invention, therefore, to provide a batteryconnector operating on the lever principle, whereby the connector orclamp may be,readily removed from the battery post by causing anenlargement of the opening for receiving the post,

Another object of my invention is to provide a movable member pivoted tothe usual split ring member and having a portion adapted to close thesplit, such portion being movable away from the battery post through theoperation of a lever principle when it is desired to remove theconnector.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the characterin question in which the operating lever extends over and fulcrums onthe end of the battery post.

Other objects of my invention will become evident from the followingdetailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawing, wherein:

Figur 1 is a view in side elevation and Fig. 2 in top plan of a batteryconnector constructed in accordance with my present invention, appliedto a post of an automobile storage battery, for example;

Fig, 3 is a bottom View in plan of the connector device illustrated inFigs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a view, partially in section and partially in elevationshowing my connector in its partially removed position; and

Figs. 5 and 6 are detailed views of certain portions of the connectorshown in the remaining figures.

Referring to the drawing, I have therein shown a portion l of anautomobile storage battery,

for example, having a boss or projection 2 for supporting a tapered postor terminal 3 of the usual lead or other soft metal type, together withmy connector 4, including a split ring 5 and a cable-connecting, member6 for gripping the bare end I of a suitable flexible cable 8.

My connector 4 comprises a bar or lever Ill extending over or above thebattery post 3, being of substantially L-shape, the lower portion of theshorter leg of bar Ill being pivoted upon a bolt ll having a head. l2 atone end and being provided with a nut l3 at the other, as best shown inFig. 2.

The outer end [4 of the longer leg of the bar it may extend outwardly toa point above the cable-connecting portion 6, or at least to aconsiderable distance beyond the post 3, and is provided with a curvedintermediate fulcrum portion l5 which, in the closed or operativeposition of the device, may contact, although exert but little pressureupon, the end of the battery post 3, as shown in Fig. 1.

The inner side or face 16 of the short leg of the bar 10 is curved toconform to the shape of the battery post 3' and cooperates with theinner face of the split ring 5, best shown in Fig. 5, to entirelysurround the battery post 3 and to make good electrical contacttherewith in the operative position of the connector shown in Fig. 1.

For the purpose of maintaining the bolt 1 l in its desired position sothat it will not work loose, a lug I1 is provided on the side of thesplit ring 5 adjacent to one face of the bolt head 12.

The split ring 5, shown in plan view in Fig. 5, is of a familiarcharacter: in general, comprising a U-shaped member having its curvedbase l9 preferably integrally merged into the cable-connecting member 6and having two oppositelydisposed outwardly-extending legs 20 and 2|, sothat this split ring is substantially U-shaped in plan view. Suitableopenings 22 and 23 are disposed near the respective outer ends of thelegs 20 and 2| for receiving the bolt II.

It is preferable that the parts of the illustrated connector 4,including the split ring 5-and cableconnecti-ng portion 6, be made ofsome non-corrodible metal to prevent the battery acid, etc., from eatingthe metal away quickly. However, such metal isnecessarily rather brittlein character, and in order to suitably reinforce the split ring 5 and atthe same time keep it relatively thin in cross-section, I provide areinforcing Wire 25, shown by itself in Fig. 6, which is cast in thesplit ring 5 and is of such contour as to i be present just below thesurfaces of the entire split ring 5. One end of the bent wire 26 isdisposed near the curved base 25 of the split ring, as

shown in Fig. 5, and extends around the curved portion up to a pointnear the end of the leg 20 where it is bent upon itself, as indicated bythe reference character 21 in Figs. 4 and 6. The conductor 25 thenextends along the'otherside of theleg 20 and around the other side ofthe curved portion 25,'the outermost point being indicated at 28 inFigs. 4 and 6,, the wire 25 then continuing around the curved portionand along the rear side of the leg 2| to the outermost point indicatedby the reference character 29. The wire 25 is then again reversed onitself,'passing along the front side of the leg 2| and around the frontside of the curved portion 25 to the end 30 of the wire 25 close to thebeginning point 26 of the wire. However, if desired, a continuous orone-piece reinforcing wire may be employed instead of the illustrateddouble-ended wire.

In this way, a suitable and readily manufactured reinforcement isprovided for the split ring 5.

It will be appreciated that the cable-connecting member 6, in lieu ofoccupying the position shown, may be disposed at substantially rightangles thereto, that is, the cable may be attached cross-wise orlengthwise, as desired. Both types of cable-connecting membersassociated with split rings are available in the art, depending upon theparticular service to which the device is to be applied.

The operation of my device may be set forth as follows: Initially, thebar ID, to which the split ring 5 is pivotally attached by means of thebolt II, is moved sufficiently close to the split ring 5 to cause theinner curved face I6 of the bar ID to extend beyond its normal operativeposition to a position such as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

Consequently, the connector 4 may be readily slipped over the batterypost 3, and the parts may then be driven into their final position byapplying a hammer to the left-hand portion of the longer leg of the barID, that is, to the upper left-hand corner portion of Fig. 1. Thisaction drives the parts into the position shown in Fig. 1 where theabove-mentioned inner curved face l6 makes close contact with theadjacent portion of the battery post 3 so that the post is entirelyenclosed by a combination of this curved face l6 and the inner face ofthe curved portion [9 of the split ring. The fulcrum portion l5 of thebar 10 makes contact with but exerts little pressure upon the end of thebattery post 3 in this operative position of my connector, as shown inFig. 1.

The nut 13 may then be tightened to the desired degree on the bolt 1 lto insure holding the clamp on the post free from vibration, etc.However, it will be noted that whereas in prior art split rings, theends could be damaged by being forced inwardly over the tightening bolt,such damage cannot occur with the present invention, as the short end ofthe lever H1 is disposed on the bolt l l between the ends of the splitring 5.

In this way, a battery connector making a satisfactory electrical andmechanical connection with the battery post 3 is provided, it beingreadily applied by means of a hammer or other implement applied as notedabove.

When it is desired to remove the connector for any purpose, it is merelynecessary to first loosen nut l3 and then apply a hammer to theoverhanging end l4 of the lever or bar l0, whereby the fulcrum portionl5 acts upon the end of the battery post 3 to efiect the followingresults:

In accordance with the well known lever principle, the application of aforce at the end M of the lever to force it downwardly around anintermediate fulcrum, such as 15, causes the load portion of the lever,including the portion surrounding the bolt II and also the split ring 5,to be moved upwardly, and at the same time the curved face [6 of the barI!) is moved outwardly away from the surface of the battery post, asillustrated in Fig. 4.

As a result, a few hammer blows thus quickly, because of the doubleaction mentioned, cause enlargement of the opening around the batterypost 3 from the standpoint of both swinging outwardly the curved face I6of the bar In and moving upwardly the curved inner face of the curvedportion [9 of the split ring 5. It will be appreciated that, When theconnector occupies the position illustrated in Fig. 4, it may be readilyremoved, since any seal between the parts and the battery post 3 byreason of corrosion, etc. will have been completely broken.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that I have provided asimple, rugged and inexpensive battery connector which may be readilyapplied and removed by means of a imple tool, such as a hammer,regardless of any corrosion that may have occurred around the batterypost tending to seal the terminal thereto.

I do not wish to be restricted to the specific structural details orarrangement of parts herein set forth, as various modification thereofmay be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of myinvention. I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall beimposed thereon as are indicated in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A terminal connector comprising a split ring member adapted toreceive a terminal post, and a disconnecting member pivoted to said ringmember and having a portion substantially closing the split therein,said disconnecting member extending over the end of said post and havingan intermediate fulcrum point bearing thereon and an overhanging endcooperating therewith when said overhanging end is struck toward thebase of the post to move said split-closing portion away from said postto permit ready removal of the entire connector therefrom.

2. A terminal connector comprising a split ring member adapted toreceive a terminal post, and means comprising a lever member movablysecured to said ring member at one side of said post and having anintermediate point fulcrumable 0n the end of said post, said levermember having a portion substantially closing the split in said ringmember and having a point at the other side of said post for applyingforce toward the base of the Post to cause a movement of said ringmember and said split-closing portion on said post when said levermember fulcrums on the end of the post.

3. A terminal connector comprising a plit ring member adapted to receivea terminal post, and means comprising a lever'member movably secured tosaid ring member at one side of said post, said lever member having aportion-extending normally generally parallel to said split ring andbeing provided with a laterally extending fulcrum portion intermediatethe ends thereof in position to engage said terminal post to permit thelever member to fulcrum thereon, said lever member also having a portionsubstantially closing the split in said ring member and having a pointat the other side of said post for applying force toward the base of thepost to cause a movement of said ring member and said split-closingportion on said post when said lever member fulcrums on the end of thepost.

FRANK B. HEWEL.

